Sunday, February 25, 2007

Veteran Benefits: Other Models

If you want things to happen, you have to make the passing of laws happen first. The laws of US at no point says reservation and quota, but spells in minute details action required by Departments, agencies and most importantly government contractors on hiring and training of veterans by:
  1. Passing of statutes violation of which is punishable
  2. A system of complaints against violation of the statutes and complaint resolution
  3. Mandating reports to the legislature
  4. Mandating priority for veterans for all training programs
  5. Mandating Govt contractors to publicise all job vacancies in the official job resource channels of the government.
  6. Making job resource organisations to provide this info to veterans on priority.
  7. Restricting eligible personnel to
    1. veterans
    2. Spouses in case
      1. the veteran has died in action
      2. Missing in action
      3. Forcibly detained by a foreign entity
      4. Any veteran who has total disability (service connected )
      5. Any veteran who died when such a disability was in existence.
Please note: No where it says a veteran's wards should be given preference over veterans themselves, unlike our AWES clearly gives in providing educational opportunity..
It is ridiculous giving preference to sons and daughters (who have opted against military service in ranks or as officers) of Majors, colonels, Brigadiers and Generals for educational opportunities provided with veteran welfare funds over the soldier orderly or soldier driver of these high ranking officers!
When you see stark naked injustice which can not survive any close scrutiny and you want such injustices to continue, the best strategy is to quickly muffle the voices or at least keep absolutely quiet. Human reaction is so very predictable.

Of course we are busy crying for reforming the President, PM, virtual PM, UPA, secularism, Cabinet, Legislature, constitution and statutes and the Judiciary and last but not the least: pay re fixation by the Defence Ministry. When we point our index finger on these, there are 4 fingers pointing at ourselves!

In an open society with freedom of expression, stark injustices get focused by press, open expressions and eventually they get corrected. That is where democracy and freedom of the expression eventually prove superior to autocracy, strict muffling of open expression. When the press focuses on inequity, powers that be start to listen. Policy under microscope is what powers dread. Policy under sunshine is what responsible citizens love.


Here follows:

Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 - VEVRAA - 38 US Code Chapter 42 ยงยง4211-4215


38 USC CHAPTER 42 - EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OF VETERANS

TITLE 38 - VETERANS' BENEFITS
PART III - READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS

Sec.


4211.
Definitions.


4212.
Veterans' employment emphasis under Federal contracts.

4213.
Eligibility requirements for veterans under Federal

employment and training programs.

4214.
Employment within the Federal Government.


4215.
Priority of service for veterans in Department of
Labor job training programs.




Sec. 4211. Definitions


As used in this chapter -
(1) The term "special disabled veteran" means -
(A) a veteran who is entitled to compensation (or who but for

the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to

compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary for a
disability (i) rated at 30 percent or more, or (ii) rated at 10
or 20 percent in the case of a veteran who has been determined


under section 3106 of this title to have a serious employment
handicap; or
(B) a person who was discharged or released from active duty
because of service-connected disability.


(2) The term "veteran of the Vietnam era" means an eligible
veteran any part of whose active military, naval, or air service
was during the Vietnam era.
(3) The term "disabled veteran" means (A) a veteran who is


entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military
retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws
administered by the Secretary, or (B) a person who was discharged
or released from active duty because of a service-connected


disability.
(4) The term "eligible veteran" means a person who -


(A) served on active duty for a period of more than 180 days

and was discharged or released therefrom with other than a


dishonorable discharge;


(B) was discharged or released from active duty because of a

service-connected disability; or

(C) as a member of a reserve component under an order to active


duty pursuant to section 12301(a), (d), or (g), 12302, or 12304

of title 10, served on active duty during a period of war or in a


campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized


and was discharged or released from such duty with other than a


dishonorable discharge.


(5) The term "department or agency" means any agency of the
Federal Government or the District of Columbia, including any
Executive agency as defined in section 105 of title 5 and the


United States Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission, and
the term "department, agency, or instrumentality in the executive
branch" includes the United States Postal Service and the Postal


Rate Commission.
(6) The term "recently separated veteran" means any veteran
during the three-year period beginning on the date of such
veteran's discharge or release from active duty.





Sec. 4212. Veterans' employment emphasis under Federal contracts

(a)(1) Any contract in the amount of $100,000 or more entered


into by any department or agency of the United States for the


procurement of personal property and nonpersonal services

(including construction) for the United States, shall contain a

provision requiring that the party contracting with the United


States take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment


qualified covered veterans.
This section applies to any subcontract
in the amount of $100,000 or more entered into by a prime
contractor in carrying out any such contract.
(2) In addition to requiring affirmative action to employ such


qualified covered veterans under such contracts and subcontracts
and in order to promote the implementation of such requirement, the
Secretary of Labor shall prescribe regulations requiring that -


(A) each such contractor for each such contract shall
immediately list all of its employment openings with the


appropriate employment service delivery system (as defined in


section 4101(7) of this title), and may also list such openings


with one-stop career centers under the Workforce Investment Act

of 1998, other appropriate service delivery points, or America's


Job Bank (or any additional or subsequent national electronic job


bank established by the Department of Labor), except that the
contractor may exclude openings for executive and senior
management positions and positions which are to be filled from


within the contractor's organization and positions lasting three
days or less;
(B) each such employment service delivery system shall give


such qualified covered veterans priority in referral to such


employment openings; and
(C) each such employment service delivery system shall provide

a list of such employment openings to States, political
subdivisions of States, or any private entities or organizations


under contract to carry out employment, training, and placement


services under chapter 41 of this title.

(3) In this section:
(A) The term "covered veteran" means any of the following


veterans:
(i) Disabled veterans.
(ii) Veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces
during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a
campaign badge has been authorized.


(iii) Veterans who, while serving on active duty in the Armed
Forces, participated in a United States military operation for
which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to


Executive Order No. 12985 (61 Fed. Reg. 1209).
(iv) Recently separated veterans.

(B) The term "qualified", with respect to an employment
position, means having the ability to perform the essential


functions of the position with or without reasonable
accommodation for an individual with a disability.

(b) If any veteran covered by the first sentence of subsection


(a) believes any contractor of the United States has failed to


comply or refuses to comply with the provisions of the contractor's


contract relating to the employment of veterans, the veteran may

file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor, who shall promptly


investigate such complaint and take appropriate action in


accordance with the terms of the contract and applicable laws and


regulations.

(c) The Secretary of Labor shall include as part of the annual
report required by section 4107(c) of this title the number of
complaints filed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the


actions taken thereon and the resolutions thereof. Such report
shall also include the number of contractors listing employment
openings, the nature, types, and number of positions listed and the

number of veterans receiving priority pursuant to subsection

(a)(2)(B).
(d)(1) Each contractor to whom subsection (a) applies shall, in
accordance with regulations which the Secretary of Labor shall

prescribe, report at least annually to the Secretary of Labor on -

(A) the number of employees in the workforce of such
contractor, by job category and hiring location, and the number
of such employees, by job category and hiring location, who are

qualified covered veterans;

(B) the total number of new employees hired by the contractor
during the period covered by the report and the number of such
employees who are qualified covered veterans; and

(C) the maximum number and the minimum number of employees of

such contractor during the period covered by the report.

(2) The Secretary of Labor shall ensure that the administration

of the reporting requirement under paragraph (1) is coordinated
with respect to any requirement for the contractor to make any

other report to the Secretary of Labor.



Sec. 4213. Eligibility requirements for veterans under Federal
employment and training programs


(a) Amounts and periods of time specified in subsection (b) shall

be disregarded in determining eligibility under any of the

following:
(1) Any public service employment program.
(2) Any emergency employment program.
(3) Any job training program assisted under the Economic

Opportunity Act of 1964.

(4) Any employment or training program carried out under title
I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et
seq.).
(5) Any other employment or training (or related) program


financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.

(b) Subsection (a) applies with respect to the following amounts


and periods of time:
(1) Any amount received as pay or allowances by any person
while serving on active duty.
(2)

Any period of time during which such person served on

active duty.
(3) Any amount received under chapters 11, 13, 30, 31, 32, and


36 of this title by an eligible veteran.
(4) Any amount received by an eligible person under chapters 13
and 35 of this title.
(5) Any amount received by an eligible member under chapter 106


of title 10.


Sec. 4214. Employment within the Federal Government

(a)(1) The United States has an obligation to assist veterans of


the Armed Forces in readjusting to civilian life. The Federal


Government is also continuously concerned with building an


effective work force, and veterans constitute a uniquely qualified


recruiting source.
It is, therefore, the policy of the United
States and the purpose of this section to promote the maximum of


employment and job advancement opportunities within the Federal


Government for qualified covered veterans
(as defined in paragraph
(2)(B)) who are qualified for such employment and advancement.
(2) In this section:
(A) The term "agency" has the meaning given the term


"department or agency" in section 4211(5) of this title.
(B) The term "qualified covered veteran" means a veteran
described in section 4212(a)(3) of this title.


(b)(1) To further the policy stated in subsection (a) of this

section, veterans referred to in paragraph (2) of this subsection
shall be eligible, in accordance with regulations which the Office

of Personnel Management shall prescribe, for veterans recruitment

appointments, and for subsequent career-conditional appointments,
under the terms and conditions specified in Executive Order
Numbered 11521 (March 26, 1970), except that -
(A) such an appointment may be made up to and including the


level GS-11 or its equivalent;
(B) a veteran shall be eligible for such an appointment without


regard to the number of years of education completed by such

veteran;
(C)

a veteran who is entitled to disability compensation under

the laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs

or
whose discharge or release from active duty was for a disability
incurred or aggravated in line of duty shall be given a


preference for such an appointment over other veterans;
(D) a veteran receiving such an appointment shall -
(i)

in the case of a veteran with less than 15 years of

education, receive training or education; and

(ii) upon successful completion of the prescribed

probationary period, acquire a competitive status; and

(E) a veteran given an appointment under the authority of this


subsection whose employment under the appointment is terminated


within one year after the date of such appointment shall have the

same right to appeal that termination to the Merit Systems


Protection Board as a career or career-conditional employee has


during the first year of employment.

(2) This subsection applies to qualified covered veterans.
(3) A qualified covered veteran may receive such an appointment


at any time.
(c) Each agency shall include in its affirmative action plan for
the hiring, placement, and advancement of handicapped individuals
in such agency as required by section 501(b) of the Rehabilitation


Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791(b)), a separate specification of plans
(in accordance with regulations which the Office of Personnel
Management shall prescribe in consultation with the Secretary, the

Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

consistent with the purposes, provisions, and priorities of such
Act) to promote and carry out such affirmative action with respect


to disabled veterans in order to achieve the purpose of this


section.

(d) The Office of Personnel Management shall be responsible for
the review and evaluation of the implementation of this section and
the activities of each agency to carry out the purpose and


provisions of this section. The Office shall periodically obtain


(on at least an annual basis) information on the implementation of

this section by each agency and on the activities of each agency to


carry out the purpose and provisions of this section. The
information obtained shall include specification of the use and


extent of appointments made by each agency under subsection (b) of
this section and the results of the plans required under subsection
(c) of this section.
(e)(1)

The Office of Personnel Management shall submit to the

Congress annually a report on activities carried out under this


section. Each such report shall include the following information
with respect to each agency:


(A) The number of appointments made under subsection (b) of
this section since the last such report and the grade levels in
which such appointments were made.
(B) The number of individuals receiving appointments under such


subsection whose appointments were converted to career or
career-conditional appointments, or whose employment under such
an appointment has terminated, since the last such report,
together with a complete listing of categories of causes of


appointment terminations and the number of such individuals whose
employment has terminated falling into each such category.
(C) The number of such terminations since the last such report


that were initiated by the agency involved and the number of such
terminations since the last such report that were initiated by
the individual involved.
(D) A description of the education and training programs in


which individuals appointed under such subsection are
participating at the time of such report.

(2) Information shown for an agency under clauses (A) through (D)
of paragraph (1) of this subsection -


(A) shall be shown for all veterans; and
(B) shall be shown separately (i) for veterans who are entitled
to disability compensation under the laws administered by the
Secretary or whose discharge or release from active duty was for


a disability incurred or aggravated in line of duty, and (ii) for
other veterans.

(f) Notwithstanding section 4211 of this title, the terms
"veteran" and "disabled veteran" as used in subsection (a) of this


section shall have the meaning provided for under generally
applicable civil service law and regulations.
(g) To further the policy stated in subsection (a) of this


section, the Secretary may give preference to qualified covered


veterans for employment in the Department as veterans' benefits


counselors and veterans' claims examiners and in positions to

provide the outreach services required under section 7722 of this


title, to serve as veterans' representatives at certain educational


institutions as provided in section 7724 of this title, or to
provide readjustment counseling under section 1712A of this title.





Sec. 4215. Priority of service for veterans in Department of Labor
job training programs


(a) Definitions. - In this section:
(1)

The term "covered person" means any of the following

individuals:


(A) A veteran.
(B) The spouse of any of the following individuals:


(i) Any veteran who died of a service-connected disability.


(ii) Any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty
who, at the time of application for assistance under this


section, is listed, pursuant to section 556 of title 37 and


regulations issued thereunder, by the Secretary concerned in
one or more of the following categories and has been so


listed for a total of more than 90 days: (I) missing in


action, (II) captured in line of duty by a hostile force, or

(III) forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a


foreign government or power.


(iii) Any veteran who has a total disability resulting from

a service-connected disability.

(iv) Any veteran who died while a disability so evaluated
was in existence.



(2) The term "qualified job training program" means any
workforce preparation, development, or delivery program or
service that is directly funded, in whole or in part, by the


Department of Labor and includes the following:
(A) Any such program or service that uses technology to
assist individuals to access workforce development programs
(such as job and training opportunities, labor market


information, career assessment tools, and related support
services).
(B) Any such program or service under the public employment
service system, one-stop career centers, the Workforce


Investment Act of 1998, a demonstration or other temporary
program, and those programs implemented by States or local
service providers based on Federal block grants administered by

the Department of Labor.

(C) Any such program or service that is a workforce
development program targeted to specific groups.

(3) The term "priority of service" means, with respect to any

qualified job training program, that a covered person shall be

given priority over nonveterans for the receipt of employment,
training, and placement services provided under that program,

notwithstanding any other provision of law.

(b) Entitlement to Priority of Service. - (1) A covered person is

entitled to priority of service under any qualified job training
program if the person otherwise meets the eligibility requirements

for participation in such program.
(2) The Secretary of Labor may establish priorities among covered

persons for purposes of this section to take into account the needs
of disabled veterans and special disabled veterans, and such other

factors as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(c) Administration of Programs at State and Local Levels. - An

entity of a State or a political subdivision of the State that
administers or delivers services under a qualified job training

program shall -
(1) provide information and priority of service to covered

persons regarding benefits and services that may be obtained
through other entities or service providers; and

(2) ensure that each covered person who applies to or who is
assisted by such a program is informed of the employment-related

rights and benefits to which the person is entitled under this

section.

(d) Addition to Annual Report. - In the annual report required
under section 4107(c) of this title for the program year beginning


in 2003 and each subsequent program year, the Secretary of Labor


shall evaluate whether covered persons are receiving priority of

service and are being fully served by qualified job training


programs, and whether the representation of veterans in such


programs is in proportion to the incidence of representation of


veterans in the labor market, including within groups that the

Secretary may designate for priority under such programs,

if any.

AWES: Issues of Equity, Propriety, Ethicality and Legality

Real Army Veteran Welfare and AWES: Issues of Equity, Propriety, Ethicality and Legality


I, as an activist in the promotion of true equal opportunity and true welfare of the "veterans of India" have some troubling questions which I am putting under the microscope. Will any one in this group be willing and motivated to apply their intellectual energy to analyse the issues identified by me as a single individual with out the benefit of multiple minds? Examining an issue does not mean pre-judging the issue. While we start with an open mind, if the study finds grosss anomalies, it might initiate some lobbying to redefine the "welfare" bandwagon and bring focus to the veteran welfare theme.

The issues in a nutshell are:
  1. Is the laudable AWES educational "welfare" activities and welfare benefits really promoting the larger interest of the average veteran, whom it is supposed to be ideally targeted?
  2. Has the AWES welfare measure been hijacked by decision makers with strong motivation to corner the benefits for their own children who are independant majors (more than 21 years of age) and use the welfare educational facilities to qualify for other than service career and thus escape the practical compulsions/ need to volunteer for a military career?
  3. AWES provides some employment opening for a number of veterans and that is a good thing. But has it done enough to upskill the ordinary veteran to make him more employable in the competitive job market?
  4. Is it appropriate, prudent and ethical that AWES be allowed to consume ordinary tax payer funded resources and thus subsidise the costs to the actual recipient of the benefit while the services offerred by the society is open to private group of progeny of veterans and actually hogged by a miniscule percentage of this target group i.e 99% resources are appropriated by the 0.1% of progeny of the larger target group i.e. average veterans of India? By tax payer subsidising the cost of education of majors who have no intention to serve in the Armed Forces, is it in any way advancing the cause of welfare of the "average veteran"?
  5. Is AWES educational institutions truly "veteran friendly" (as is known in the veteran friendly countries like USA ) in the sense that they accept veterans with open arms even by exercising affirmative action or they go out of their way to deny the opportunities to veterans ?
  6. Is AWES policy of keeping strict age limits of 19, 20 and 21 for admission to the professional educational institutions a denial of equal opportunity to the "real veteran", whose funds have been appropriated for the purpose?
  7. Is age discrimination denial of "equal opportunity" for the real veteran who could benefit from the educational opportunity offerred by the AWES and on whose behalf the AWES assumes legitimacy far above that of a "strictly private registered educational society" in the newly lucrative educational industry ?
  8. Is discrimination on the basis of "parent's professional affiliation" by a public educational institution granting university degrees in the country and affiliated to Universities in India under Universities Act a violation of "equal opportunity" enshrined in the fundamental rights of the constitution of India? ( e.g. Can a private educational society like that of Tata or Birla discriminate against the public by reserving 100% admissions to professional colleges under it to children of their own family?)
  9. What all could AWES with its educational infrastructure built with veteran welfare funds spread across the length and breadth of the country do to increase the employment opportunity for the average veteran but has failed to do so because of diffused thinking about what we mean by Army Welfare ?

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

VETERAN RESOLUTION

VETERAN RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Veteran Population of India regarding the ongoing need to provide every veteran with equal access to opportunity in education, business, and employment and the indispensability of Affirmative action programs in securing such equal access.

Whereas despite the progress which has been made in the past 62 years ensuring equal opportunity for veterans of all ranks: ORs, JCOS and Officers, equal opportunity in education, business, and employment remains elusive for the great mass of members of these groups;

Whereas as a result of the lack of equal opportunity many, perhaps a majority of veterans are denied their fair share of business opportunity, never recieve employment after early seperation forn the services, find their career paths capped, and are excluded or underrepresented in many fields of training or education;

Whereas veterans are denied full access to educational and economic opportunity, all India suffers from the loss of these discarded and suppressed talents, contributions, leadership, and insights;

Whereas the notion of equal opportunity flows directly from the fundamental rights of equal opportunity in employment enshrined in the Constitution of India and ought to be part of our most deeply embedded values, and affirmative action programs arise from, and are consistent with, the need to proactively extend equal opportunity through our public and private institutions and especially in strictly private institutions created with welfare funds generated by the veterans for the Welfare of the Veterans.

Welfare of the veteran does NOT mean welfare of the children of veteran (and specially when the veteran can benefit and are willing to take advantage from education) for the basic and professional education (which he himself missed becausde he joined the military service at a very young age before completing his civilian education) and yet not only affirmative action NOT provided for not so well educated ordinary veteran, but by construction of ridiculous rules, we deliberately excluded the under dog veteran from getting any of the basic and professional education in strictly private Veteran Welfare educational institutions (managed by AWES).

Fundamental principle is denying or restricting an educational opportunity should be if and only if these large population of veterans (who needs these educational opportunities most as they left their unfinished education to join our forces at an early age and are forcibly discharged at a very early age almost in their prime of youth to fend for themselves) can not take advantage of these educational opportuinties due to 100% disability.

We should be fighting day in and day out with every institution in the whole country, government, public and private institutions for providing afirmative action to give these most deserving veterans to avail all educational opportunities at zero cost to themselves. Instead, we create huge educational infrastructure with veteran wefare funds under the Army Welfare Educational Society and deny them the educational opportunity they badly need!

All because the policy makers did not have the vision to get out of the outmoded mindset view that educational opportunities can be taken advantage of only in your teens or in your early 20's. This is age discrimination against the veteran at its worst perpetrated by our own policy makers.What face do we have to fight against lack of affirmative action in the larger society when we are the biggest culprits in age discrimination. If it was USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, these policy makers would have been breaking Age Discrimination laws and sent to jail and imposed heavy monetary penalties.

Whereas the advanced countries' experience has taught us that no group will, or should, accept anything less than full and equal access to educational, business, and employment opportunity and that the denial of such opportunity on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, gender, or disability undermines our national unity, rends the political and social fabric of our Nation, and distorts and mutates democracy and government;

Whereas Affirmative action is a tool, or set of tools, for overcoming the remnants of prejudice and bias and for achieving fairness and equal opportunity, which provide qualified members of our community equal opportunity, without quotas, without denying fairness and equal opportunity to any groups or individuals; and

Whereas Affirmative action rejects simplistic notions of ranking on merit, recognizes that there is no single test or measure of merit, and seeks to capitalize on the strengths of our diversity of being, and our diversity of experience: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY IS, AND OUGHT TO BE, THE LAW OF THE LAND.

    It is the sense we, the veterans should undertake to protect and expand equality of opportunity for our veterans at every opportunity.

SEC. 2. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS CONSISTENT WITH, AND NECESSARY FOR, ACHIEVING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY.

    It is the sense of the wisdom that--
      (1)We still faces significant challenges with achieving equal opportunity for our veterans and disabled persons;
      (2) Affirmative action is a powerful, effective, and at this stage of our development as a nation, necessary, tool for achieving such equal opportunity and should be utilized in the public and private sectors to correct patterns of past and current discrimination; and
      (3) the laws of country shall be construed to recognize our constitution's intent to incorporate Affirmative action so as to maximize equal opportunity for veteras and disabled persons.

SEC. 3. THE MILITARY AS A INSTITUTION SHALL PROMOTE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN ALL EXECUTIVE ACTIONS AND PROGRAMS.

    It is the sense of our constitution that we shall incorporate Affirmative action into the education, employment, contracting, granting and all program activities.

It is recognised that the denial of equal opportunity took root because of the old mind set of the policy makers (and not due to anymaleovolence) and the earlier we correct it, the better it is.

The stark statistics might give us a jolt:

............................................................................Veteran ......... V. Progeney

Funds used for Educational infrastructure: .........100% ...................0%

AWES Educational Opportunity
(Click and see statistics here)

Total Public School Opportunities(24338 ) ................0 ......................24338 ( a large %age cornered by officer's children)
Total school edu opportunities (128500)................... 0 .......................128500
Total professional edu opportunities(1710) ...............0 ............................1710 (A large %age , almost 90+ %age cornered by Officers children who have rejected army as a career)

Is it in fitness of things to privide educational opportunities to those who are rejecting the military career over those who have dedicated themselves to it with funds provided exclusovely for veteran welfare?

All because we have (in our stupidity) written off the veteran and hopes that the children of the veteran if given an education will look after the veteran in their old age, but what is the guarentee?

In advanced west, the veteran benefits can only be availed by the immediate relative of the veteran if and only the veteran is totally disabled and unable to avail of the benefits and the veteran has to depend on the relative for life sustenance and support for the rest of his life. That is clear thinking at its best.

Age discrimination is a crime against veteran and AWES practises it openly with immunity.

See the Australian age discrimination act 2004

which states:
26 Education
(1) It is unlawful for an educational authority to discriminate against a person on the ground of the person's age:
(a) by refusing or failing to accept the person's application for admission as a student; or

(b) in the terms or conditions on which it is prepared to admit the person as a student.
(2) It is unlawful for an educational authority to discriminate against a student on the ground of the student's age:
(a) by denying the student access, or limiting the student's access, to any benefit provided by the educational authority; or
(b) by expelling the student; or
(c) by subjecting the student to any other detriment.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

How to make our Army Veteran Friendly ?

Sir,
You may dismiss this as a stupid question. We are veteran friendly and we do not want any one to teach us how to be "veteran friendly" is the reaction of the normal army officers right from the 2/ Lt to the General. May be you also believe it is so. All I can say is that you have not applied your mind to the question of what is veteran friendliness.

We have defined " veteran welfare" to mean how to look after the interests of our "progeny" at the expense of the "veteran". This issue requires little study and reflection.

We have done a very good job of building AWES(Army Welfare Education Society). It is very artfully conceived as a private initiative designed for the welfare of the "progeny" of veterans who have expressly rejected army as a career option and not the welfare of the " veteran". This may sound little too discordant for our top brass and may be little unsettling for many of us who as usual do not think through the issues involved.

Originally, the AWES must have been funded from welfare funds of the Army controlled by the top brass. The funds possibly must have included canteen profits which are required in principle to be used for the veteran welfare. The question I am raising is : Are we using these funds for the benefits of the veterans?

AWES has created a very impressive institutional chains and all those who contributed to the development of these institutions really deserves credit and our praise. Over a period of time we tend to do local optimisation and in the bargain tend to loose the over all strategic direction. That may not be visible easily unless you examine the institution and how the strategic purpose of "veteran welfare" is being operationalised.

  1. Are AWES institutions "veteran friendly" ? One moment of reflection reveal that they are least "veteran friendly" because the number of veterans who are able to take advantage of these institutions are minuscule, no, just zero. Statistics of number of veterans who benefited from these institutions are near zero! That is not by accident, it is by design deliberately to keep veterans out and weighed in favour of progeny of Officers, JCOs and ORs in that order. The outcome of admission results obviously are designed to favour the miniscule number of officers children compared to the overall veterans.
    1. The upper age limit for the professional colleges are kept at 21/22 years.( the message is , look, let the veteran go to hell, we are not interested in them.)
    2. The progeny of those Army personnel who join the Army in the ranks or as officers can also forget about taking advantages of these institutes.
    3. So essentially, this whole scheme is used for those children of services personnel who have rejected Army as a career either in the ranks or as an officer.
  2. "After independence, education in a residential public school was out of reach for most officers" says the introductory sentence of the AWES : A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW.
  3. Institutional control and coerce mechanisms are used to direct funds for veteran welfare for the welfare of our progeny who have rejected army as a career. Seperation of a privately funded educational Society's benefit from that of the Institution of the Army is not only not kept but deliberately confused. See the coersion of veteran welfare funds for the activities at Para 4 of the the second letter below. Not only that, (see 005/GENERAL/2006) the veteran welfare funds are utilised for life insurance of students (and on the margin of the employees of the AWES).
  4. AWES, a private educational society issues directive to Army formations how to hood wink the Government. Misuse of government resources and government employee time are used to subsidise the cost of running educational institution to benefit those who mange to get admission into these institutions. Those who are excluded are the millions and millions of real veterans who rot in the villages eking out a living on their pensions. They can at the most seek employment as guards in a bank but not aspire any job after qualifying at the educational institutions created with funds for veteran welfare. In the meanwhile, we officers children who could not get admission into the premier institutions like IIT, AIIMS, NUL and IIM will get some engineering, Law, Medicine, dental , hotel management and Management education to join the work force other than Army of course!

    I had the proud privilege of meeting some veterans doing PhD under the GI Bill in prestigious institution like Princeton and Stanford in USA some time back and they were all non officer veterans. And, we deliberately keep our veterans out of institutions for undergraduate education created out of the welfare funds generated for their benefits!
    Do we need any more proof that we are "least veteran friendly" ? Why blame other organisations for resisting lateral entry, etc. Our enemies are within ourselves!
    We have misused the brand name "Army" for AWES which is strictly speaking unethical. Can AWES take me to court if I start an institution and call it Army Institute of Computer Technology? Can AWES have a claim on the brand of " ARMY"? Will the claim be sustained in a court of law? Any analysis?
    Instead of us fighting against discrimination on the basis of age and for laws like in all the advanced countries (USA, Canada, UK, , Europe, Australia Newzeland), we have introduced age disqualification to keep the veterans out of the benefit for education in institutions established out of veteran welfare funds! See the Australian age discrimination act 2004
    which states:
    26 Education
    (1) It is unlawful for an educational authority to discriminate against a person on the ground of the person's age:
    (a) by refusing or failing to accept the person's application for admission as a student; or

    (b) in the terms or conditions on which it is prepared to admit the person as a student.
    (2) It is unlawful for an educational authority to discriminate against a student on the ground of the student's age:
    (a) by denying the student access, or limiting the student's access, to any benefit provided by the educational authority; or
    (b) by expelling the student; or
    (c) by subjecting the student to any other detriment.

    We should be lobbying for such laws in India too, in the interest of our large number of veterans, but instead, we are cornering the benefits at the expense of the veterans! Will an ordinary veteran be educated enough to raise his voice against this?
    See how we are using a government web site to advertise a private intiative: http://www.awes.nic.in/
    regards
    nath

    Our ethical standards are questionable. It is tantamount to official stealing of government money.Examples of converting public money into private benefit:
    =============================================================================================================================
    CIRCULAR NO 003/GEN/2004

    Tele & Fax: 23018363,23018702
    ASCON : 2938, 2948
    E-Mail : cw9@rediffmail.com
    aweshq@hotmail.com

    Army Welfare Education Society (AWES)
    Adjutant General's Branch
    Army Headquarters
    Building No 153, Kashmir House
    Rajaji Marg
    DHQ PO New Delhi-110011

    B/45795/AWES

    12 Jul 2004

    List 'C'


    SERVING OFFICERS VISITING HEADQUARTERS ARMY WELFARE EDUCATION SOCIETY (AWES)


    General

    1. Serving officers are often required to visit Adjutant General's Branch, HQ AWES to attend conferences, make presentations, discuss issues pertaining to Professional Colleges / Schools or various other AWES related matters.

    2. Of late there has been instances when vehicle were not detailed by theADG Adm and Coord for conveyance of officers on the plea that audit authorities were objecting to duties related to AWES. It is possible that CDA (O), at a future date, may raise similar objections relating to temporary duty move sanctions related to AWES matters. In any case, all serving officers visiting AWES do have a number of issues with the Army Headquarters.

    Ruling

    3. Those visiting HQ AWES or who are called to HQ AWES for presentation in Adjutant General's Branch concerning AWES matters will show duties to AG Branch in all correspondence having financial bearing for audit authorities.

    Action at Formations Level

    4. Formations while requesting for temporary duty of officers to ensure that the move is requested for one of the following :-

    (a) Discussion with AG/DG D C&W regarding Welfare matters.

    (b) To attend conference at Adjutant General's Branch.

    (c) Discussion on A matters.

    5. Move details alongwith Exact Time of Arrival (ETA) will be forwarded at least 10 days in advance. This period is considered essential to indent, arrange accommodation and transport. In case, the formations are unable to send the requisition within this time frame, officers may have to make their own arrangement for accommodation and transport.

    Action at HQ AWES

    6. HQ AWES will ensure that formations get sufficient time to prepare for the requirements for which the officers are called. Formations must indicate at the earliest the intended programmes of officers so that adequate arrangements for their reception, accommodation and transport are made. Indent for accommodation and transport will be placed on Adm & Coord, quoting the authorized duty. The indent will be got countersigned by DDG (Welfare) or by ADG C&W when the requirement of transport is for non working days.


  5. CIRCULAR NO 03/GEN/2006

    Tele : 23018702
    E-Mail - aweshq@rediffmail.com


    Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) Adjutant General's Branch
    Army Headquarters
    Bldg No 153, Kashmir House
    Rajaji Marg, New Delhi - 110 011

    B/45797/BOG/AWES
    16 May 06
    List 'A'


    CONTRIBUTION BY HQ COMMANDS / FORMATIONS OUT OF WELFARE FUNDS FOR AWES SCHOOLS / COLLEGES WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION

    1. Reference Para 6 of Appendix to this HQ letter No B /45797 / BOG / AWES dated 02 May 06 (Minutes of BOG held on 18 Apr 06).

    2. There has been a paradigm shift in our definition of welfare. Education and health have emerged as key areas for our concern and attention. Bulk of the amount out of welfare funds has been/is being spent on provision of quality education at affordable cost. Due to expansion and privatization of education, salary bill of quality faculty is increasing. Funds are also required to provide good infrastructure. Keeping this in mind, a decision was taken by the Board of Governors, duly approved by COAS, during the meeting held on 28 Oct 04, for appropriate contribution of at least 15-20% of the Welfare Funds to education projects within your jurisdiction. Based on this decision, a feedback for the financial year 2005-06 was obtained.

    3. COAS, during BOG meeting held on 18 Apr 06, expressed his concern over the fact that some of the formations were not spending the desired amount on AWES educational institutions, especially when viewed against the fact that Army HQ is spending more than 65% of its funds on the same. He has desired a feed back from the Commands.

    You are requested to coordinate the efforts at HQ Command level and issue detailed instructions to implement the directions of BOG and of the COAS. The amount can be spent to improve the following in AWES Colleges/Schools :-

    (a) Infrastructure.

    (b) Upgradation of Information Technology (IT).

    (c) Incentives to outstanding performers.

    (d) Adventure activities.

    (e) Principals Meet/Seminars.

    (f) Faculty Enrichment Programmes.

    (g) Any other Development activity.

    5. In addition to the above, budget of AWES cells including pay and allowances of staff may be met by adopting any one or the combination of the following:-

    (a) By utilising part of 15-20% of the welfare funds.

    (b) By collecting contributions from Army Schools and Colleges on pro rata basis.

    (c) By utilizing part of welfare funds and part from contributions from Army Schools and Colleges.

    6. Command HQ will lay down detailed instructions on the subject so that formations get a clear picture of what is to be spent on schools/colleges and what contribution is required at HQ Command level to support the budget of AWES Cells. A copy of the instructions may be endorsed to this HQ.

    7. To enable HQ AWES to give progress to the BOG during Apr & Oct, it is requested that data may please be submitted to Army HQ biannually, as per format attached covering periods as under:-

    (a) Period 01 Apr - 30 Sep by 07 Oct.

    (b) Period 01 Oct - 31 Mar by 07 Apr.

    8. This letter supersedes our letter No B/45797/AWES dated 03 Mar 05.


    Sd/-x-x-x-x--x

    (MG Girish)
    Lt Gen
    DG D, C&W